Thank you for contacting me regarding federal firearms laws. I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this matter.

As a strong proponent of the Second Amendment, I believe it is essential to safeguard the law-abiding citizen's constitutional right to own and use firearms designed for legitimate purposes such as hunting, target shooting, collecting, and self-protection. Restricting this right runs counter to the intent of our Founding Fathers, who expressly guaranteed that citizens would retain the right to keep and bear arms.

It is encouraging that the Supreme Court has upheld the will of our Founders and re-affirmed the ideals our country was established upon. The Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller provides a greater guarantee that Americans' Constitutional rights remain secure from federal government intrusion. I was proud to sign an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in that case stating an individual’s right to bear arms is fundamental. This historic ruling continues to have implications far beyond the District of Columbia. In 2010, the Supreme Court decided in McDonald v. City of Chicago to strike down the arbitrary gun ban in Chicago—and thereby affirm that the Second Amendment safeguards against state and local encroachments on the fundamental right to keep and bear arms.

As a former Texas Supreme Court Justice and Attorney General, I have firsthand knowledge of crime-fighting policies that work, and I believe that citizens' Second Amendment rights should not be restricted because of the actions of criminals. Rather, we must focus our attention on the source of violent crime: criminals who use firearms to commit crimes. I believe that strictly enforcing the law—and meting out tougher sentences for career criminals and those who use firearms when committing crimes—will reduce crime more effectively than gun or equipment bans, which primarily serve to take firearms away from law-abiding citizens.

I appreciate the opportunity to represent Texans in the United States Senate, and you may be certain that I will continue working with my colleagues to protect our Second Amendment rights. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.

Got the same one awhile ago. I also wrote to Kay Bailey when she was in office and mumbling about mag bans. Got a bland we support the 2nd reply. Good for the RKBA cause that she retired. I don't know how steadfast she would be.

Thank you for contacting my office regarding the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and its impact on federal gun legislation. I appreciate your taking the time to share your views with me.

As you know, on December 14, 2012, a mentally unstable gunman committed a senseless atrocity by murdering twenty students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut. While many Americans continue to try to rationalize this tragedy it remains clear that the inhumane and depraved actions of this individual gunman appear to be motivated solely by his extremely disturbed mental state.

On January 16, 2013, President Obama and his administration introduced a twenty-three point plan which lays out both executive and legislative proposals that would attempt to prevent future violence. As the details of the President’s proposals become more clear, I look forward to reviewing them, and working with my colleagues to find sensible solutions that respect the Second Amendment but also help us prevent these type of horrific events from ever happening again.

While I am an unwavering supporter of the Second Amendment, please know that I will seriously consider all reasonable public safety legislation that comes before the Senate.

Thank you once again for contacting my office. Please do not hesitate to do so on this or any other issue of concern.

IDK why McCain would waver in his convictions to appease people nowadays. He's a lame duck in terms of being elected or nominated for a higher seat in DC

__________________
I told the new me,
"Meet me at the bus station and hold a sign that reads: 'Today is the first day of the rest of your life.'"
But the old me met me with a sign that read: "Welcome back."
Who you are is not a function of where you are. -Off Minor

Mealy mouthed letters are a tool for politicians. They allow them to sound like they support a cause (even if they don't come across as strong supporters) while retaining the freedom to change positions if their constituents start leaning heavily the opposite direction.

I rather wonder if those sending out such vague letters, while not being strong supporters of the RKBA, also will not be strong supporters of ban bills. If one hits the floor they may vote for it, but they will not be eager for one to come to the floor.

One of my own senators is like this- mouthed initial support for a ban, then quit talking about it and now she seems like she just wants the whole thing to go away (McCaskill, D-MO). The majority leader of the Senate (Reid) is on record saying that they won't even take up a ban if it doesn't look like passage is a certainty... I think Senators like this are why that is. They have no desire to stick their necks out and go on record if it isn't going to pass. So while they may not seem like our friends (and they really may not be), they at least have a sense of self preservation.

Was it Machiavelli who said "Let them hate so long as they fear?" I'd prefer that my politicians be true believers in the cause of the RKBA, but I'll settle for them understanding that votes to weaken my rights will mean loss of enough votes to get them looking for new work.

I have actually gotten a few responses from politicians of all levels.

The ones I got from my Senators were about what I expected them to be as I already know where they stand on firearms. Sherrod Brown gave a very generic but anti leaning reply, Rob Portman had a pro-gun reply.

Have yet to receive anything from my Congress person Marcy Kaptur. I know where she stands on gun rights. Still would be nice to get some sort of acknowledgement even if its to tell me to she thinks we should revert back to sticks and slingshots for self defense.

Honestly I feel the responses I have gotten from the state level and local level are a bit more sincere and heartfelt than anything I will ever see coming from the federal level.

It's up to the fine people of AZ and replace this old cronie moderate. Was he actually a friend of the people? He also supported a method that would have allowed means for the left to get any bill passed when the senate would not vote on it... obama-o-nomice and keeping his word ''if congress won't do it I wll''

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